French Connection

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Clovis Donizetti and Phileas. Photo:: Thomas Lodin

Clovis Donizetti and Phileas. Photo:: Thomas Lodin

So then, Phileas has ben hanging around with Clovis Donizetti. For those who don’t know him, Clovis is an astonishing longboarder.

Clovis got in the water with Phileas. Here is what he had to say:

We shot in the water with phileas with analog cameras, but eventually the film was not good. So no action pictures. 

I tried to have a different take eventually 

So here it is. 

Thanks again for the opportunity !

( don’t hesitate to correct my English please !)

Phileas, being the seasoned traveler he is, arrived at my house in a discreet yet fancy inflatable pool toy package. 

Unfolding it was quite a moment, discovering and reading about all his travels and adventures around the world..

We hit off the moody Atlantic swell pretty quickly after that, and that strange quality that you can meet in those weird travelers you might cross paths once in your life was obvious : this feeling of déjà vu, easy and instant communication sharing a few waves together..

Of course as a good host, I had to show him around, including the local wine bar...

It was then already time to say farewell and wish the next adventures to be as good as the time we spent together...

Thanks Phileas and Graeme for getting us in touch !

Photos Thomas Lodin

Photo:: Thomas Lodin

Photo:: Thomas Lodin

Photo:: Thomas Lodin

Photo:: Thomas Lodin

Photo:: Thomas Lodin

Photo:: Thomas Lodin

Thanks Clovis for hosting our girl and adding to her story.

And many thanks to the amazing Thomas Lodin for the images. http://thomaslodin.com/

Cheers

G

Phileas - Over and Out...

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Phileas Project - End of the Line

Well, sad times but with occasional promises of moving on followed by long periods of silence it seems that this adventure has ground to a halt. Phileas seems to have permanently emigrated to Japan having been in the keep of Ryo Hiwasa for 7 months today.  

Ryo hasn't really been able to send us anything, other than a few photos in August and October 2016 but it looks like they were having fun.  Let's hope Phileas is still getting some waves.

It's been a great adventure and the early momentum was so inspiring. Having now built over 200 mats in total, number 50 seem like a long time ago. My builds have evolved a lot since then! Still, Phileas remains the mat closest to my heart with so many memories. Here's a quick look back over the story:

The journey started in July 2014 when a white mat was born:

After a quick splash in terrible waves (the one session I had with her), Phileas swung north to hook up with GP Sean Stansfield on the Shetland Islands.  

Sean struggled to find much, although did manage to mountain goat his way in to a good spot but doing that with a mat, fins an camera were a bit of a stretch.

After her stint with Sean, Phileas crossed the Atlantic. Her first stop was with John Hughes in Florida before going over to Puerto Rico with the mat master that is Jamie McClellen. After the sunshine, it was time for Phileas to hit the Big Apple with Tim Darwish before a final stint with the human seal, Jeremy Grosvenor.

I love the amount of work that everyone on the East Coast put in to looking after Phileas.

So, on to the US West coast then. First stop, San Diego and lodging with the late, great Scott Reeder. The perfect host! I know a lot of people will really love looking back at this episode. Surf-wise, she hooked up with a load of local riders including Scott, his wife Pam and son Maz, mat meisters Kendog and Mark Miller and local legends Peter St Pierre and Cher Pendarvis.

For the next stop, Phileas headed up the coast to the OC. After a quick stop off with Newport Wedge legend Sean Starky, a true great of mat surfing, James "Mattitude" Sowell takes up the reins for sessions with Matt Pierce and Chad Stickney. Chad, Jamo and Matt pulle dout all the stops for this leg hitting a huge range of spots from reefs to beaches to river waves to heavy slabs. Such a great example of mat surfing.

Phileas hits Rincon... Well tries too, but timing has conspired against her a touch. Nonetheless, Matt Herman managed to snag a few Carpinteria area waves before Andrew Stephen Buck whisked her off to Mexico's Scorpion Bay. Never let it be said that ASB won't pull out all the stops to find good, right hand point waves!

Vancouver Island was the next stop with Graham Gidden and Willie McB. Graham sought out some phenomenal looking set ups and really put Philleas through her paces in some beautiful looking cold water waves. He sent over some stunning shots which have been put together here. 

An amazing part of the world! What a place!

Phileas took a trip to the Sandwich Islands. The timing wasn't perfect for waves and her hosts were curse with bad luck (such as losing the GoPro with the surfing footage on it) but she still had a great time.

Beautiful Islands and mat surfers living the dream... If only she'd had waves...

So it has been a good run and I really appreciate all the effort people put into the project.

Here's to you Phileas!

G

Back in Cali

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So, Phileas has made her way back to the US and is currently lodging with one of Rincon's truly nice guys, Matt Herman. Matt managed to snag some tiny but really fun little peelers down the beach from Rincon.

Matt says:

Phileas surfed well, it was fast and loose, even at high inflation levels. We were lucky enough to get steeply angled SSE swell from Hurricane Delores, which was no Marie.  It was, is, extremely humid for out here.  One day this week it was 76% and 84 degrees F.  Its strange to see rain and electrical storms in Santa Barbara, or CA.  The ocean was glassy, no clear as glass.  I saw bizarrely blue ocean colors all week on Instagram, as far north as Santa Cruz.  I surfed this morning on the back side of Rincon on Phileas, solo for a while.

I was at the back side of Pitus in these photos.  I felt like a kid on the day those were taken, weaving through bathers and getting called into waves by tourists and locals, who were both tripping out on the weather, water, and the mat surfing skills of yours truly. ;)

M.H.H.

I'm just pleased to see Phileas getting back to what she's best at and staying clear of her vices. Although the pram thing... I don't even want to ask!

Thanks to Sylvia Orantes for taking the photos.

G

The Shetland Files

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Sean Stansfield, possibly the most isolated GP in the British Isles, was kind enough to host Phileas on the first step of her journey. Sean has been busy saving lives and getting sorted for his impending move back to the mainland but he has managed to get some footage out.

Sean wasn't blessed with waves but gave it a good go! As sod's law would have it, Sean had some great waves the very next day with Phileas but that spot wasn't accessible with the camera. 

Sod's law!

Anyway, great sport and good fun from Sean.

Cheers

G

Sean Stansfield and Phileas in Shetland